The Cougs coming off a scare against Idaho, marched into Madison, Wisconsin and came away with one of the biggest road wins in their history. As 17.5 point underdogs, the Cougs pull the big upset over the 19th ranked Badgers in front of over 74,000, 17-14.
Cougs were predicted to finish 8th in the conference, but after Saturday’s game in Wisconsin, they are definitely turning some heads. WSU fumbled the ball three times in game which were costly, so the biggest thing coming into the game was holding onto the ball. Cam Ward was looking to show why he was the highest rated transfer player coming into the season. In the opening drive of the game, Ward drove the Cougs down to the Wisconsin 31, but threw an interception at the goal line to corner Max Lofy, which was a clear indication of Ward’s inexperience in Division I football. Lofy pealed of his man and made the play, something that Ward didn’t see in FCS football. The WAZZU defense stacked the box the entire game to focus in on the heavy run game of the Badgers which was very effective only allowing 3.9 yards a carry.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Cougs were able to stop the Badgers on 4th and 3 and give them some momentum. Ward then completed a pass to Billy Riviere who took it 38 yard to the Wisconsin 7. Wisconsin transfer running back Nakia Watson punched it in from 2-yards out to give the Cougs the 7-0 lead. Wisconsin followed the Cougar score up with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Mertz to Cundiff to tie the game at 7. The Badgers were able to get in the endzone again in a 35 second drive before the end of the half. Mertz found Jackson for a gain of 45-yards, then found Cundiff again for their second touchdown connection of the game to take a 14-7 lead going into the locker room.
In the 2nd half, the Cougs defense held strong and used timely turnovers to propel them to the win. Nakia Watson used a spin move after a pass from ward and ran 31 yards for the Cougs score to put them up for good. The Badgers Vito Calvaruso missed a 43-yard field goal in the 4th that would have tied the game at 17. Badgers had one last attempt late in the 4th, but WSU’s Quinn Roff forced the ball loose from Cundiff, and the Cougs were able to hang on for the big win in Madison.
Cam Ward finished with 200 yards on 17 for 28 passing with a touchdown pass and interception. The Cougs as a team had 53 yards on the ground, but it was the defense that came through for WAZZU in the end to help them to the upset win. WSU returns home the next 3 weeks to face Colorado State, Oregon and Cal.
